April National Update

National Update. 

Economy:

• Inflation rates – As of 16 April, the national inflation rate was 3%, with the Bank of England (BoE) target being 2%. At its last meeting on 19 March, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said that the inflation rate was higher than expected due to the Iran conflict and that it will likely remain high “at least in the short term – and the impact will be greater the longer the war and its effect on the global energy supply goes on”. The BoE also said that “higher energy costs could also slow down the economy as people and businesses will have less money to spend on other things – the MPC is assessing what this will mean for inflation”.
• Interest rates – The BoE held interest rates at 75% at its meeting on 19 March. Before the Middle East conflict, most analysts expected two or three interest rate cuts during 2026 but they could now go up due to the uncertain global political environment. The next BoE meeting is on 30 April.
• GDP growth – In March it was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that the economy grew by 0.1% in the three months to December 2025, indicating that the economy is stagnant and struggling to grow under a Labour administration which promised growth. The small growth rate was due to an increase of 1.2% in production, whilst the construction sector decreased by 2%. The services sector showed no growth at all.
• Pound sterling – Sterling is currently at €1.15 to the pound (16 April). With the current uncertain geopolitical and national landscape, it is hard to predict where it will go next. Against the Dollar, the pound has weakened, reaching $1.36 to the pound (16 April).
• House market prices – On 2 April, it was reported by the Nationwide Building Society that annual house price growth picked up to 2.2% in March 2026, from 1% in February 2026. The outer south east region was the weakest performing region, with prices down 0.7% compared with Q1 2025. This suggests that the market has picked up momentum after the slowdown recorded around the turn of the year. However, like future UK inflation and interest rates, the recent sharp rise in global energy prices in response to developments in the Middle East represents a significant shock to the global economy which will likely impact upon house market prices.
• Unemployment rates – On 19 March it was reported by the ONS that the UK unemployment rate was 5.2% for those people aged 16 and over. This is the highest unemployment rate for almost five years, with recent graduates significantly impacted by a drop in the number of vacancies.

Activity and Bills in Parliament:

• English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill – This is a bill to enact the local government reform changes to combined authorities, combined county authorities and police and crime commissioners. It is currently in the House of Lords at Report stage, which started on 24 March and is ongoing (at Report stage).
• Agricultural Land (Planning) Bill – This is a Private Members Bill, sponsored by the Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, Helen Whately, which aims to prohibit the granting of planning permission in respect of Grade 1 agricultural land and to provide for exemptions from that prohibition. The bill started in the House of Commons and is still at Second Reading, which took place on 28 November 2025. Given it is a Private Members Bill, it is unlikely to be given further Parliamentary time by the UK Government.
• Date for the Kings Speech in 2026 – The King’s speech (and the government’s forthcoming legislative agenda for 2026 and the next Parliamentary term) will take place on 13 May in the UK Parliament. This will take place in the immediate aftermath of the May 2026 local elections and could be seen as a ‘ploy’ for the prime minister to gain the initiative after potentially bad local election results. Planning and infrastructure related legislation is likely to feature in the speech, as well as other bills to boost the UK economy.

 Current affairs:

• On 1 April the prime minister announced that he would pursue closer economic ties with the European Union in the summer, 10 years after the UK voted to come out of the trading and political bloc. In his speech, Sir Kier Starmer warned that the Iran conflict would impact on the UK but also sought to reassure the public that the government was taking action to ease the cost of living, particularly in relation to energy bills.
• The end of March saw the launch of the party political campaigns for the local elections, to take place on 7 May. During this time, in areas where local elections are taking place, planning and other committee meetings

could be suspended and the local administration go into ‘purdah’. Chelgate Local’s policy and political reports will be reporting on the local campaigns during the lead up to 7 May and providing analysis.

• On 29 March it was reported by Sky News and the pollsters YouGov that the Reform Party is leading with 23% of the vote, with Labour on 19%, the Greens on 18%, the Conservatives on 17% and the Liberal Democrats on 14%. This polling suggests that a combination of political parties might have to form an ‘electoral pact’ in order to form the next UK government at the next election, with no party winning an overall majority. Many councils will be in the same situation post-7 May.